Lauren Thomer Named Assistant Coach

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — The Yale University women's basketball team announced today the addition of Lauren Thomer as its new assistant coach and recruiting coordinator.

Thomer comes to Yale after three seasons as the head women's basketball coach at Manhattanville College (Division III), where she guided the Valiants to a 45-32 record over the three seasons, which included consecutive Freedom Conference regular-season championships in 2009-10 and 20010-11. The Philadelphia native brings eight years of coaching experience that are highlighted by seven winning seasons, four conference championships, nine All-Conference players, six 1,000-point scorers, and overall record of 157-79 as a head coach and an assistant.

"Lauren Thomer is going to make a difference at Yale," said Chris Gobrecht, the Joel E. Smilow, Class of 1954, Head Coach of Women's Basketball. "She has the talent, the experience, and a passion for Yale that can give us that last push to that Ivy League Championship that is getting closer every year. Coach Thomer has been a very successful head coach, and has also learned as an assistant coach under one of the best in the game, Dave Magarity at Army. Coach Thomer will take over the recruiting coordinator responsibilities on our staff as well as become a valuable coach and mentor to our players. We are thrilled to welcome Lauren Thomer to our Bulldog family."

In just three seasons at Manhattanville, Thomer moved into third place on the program's career victories list. In her first two seasons, she posted the second-most wins by a coach in their first two seasons in program history.

"Yale is a special place and I feel incredibly honored that Coach Gobrecht has given me the opportunity to be a member of her staff. The one thing I love about coaching is the sense of family and the special relationships that come along with it. I certainly had that at Manhattanville, which made it tough to say goodbye, but I look forward to becoming a member of the Bulldog Family. I am excited about this next chapter in my career and I can't wait to get started!"

During her tenure at Manhattanville, Thomer coached two 1,000-point scorers in Courtney Turner (2011-12) and Simona Gordon (2010-11), a D3Hoops.com All-Region honoree and MBWA All-Metropolitan honoree in Carey Hickey in 2010-11, as well three All-Freedom Conference First Team honorees in Hickey (2010-11), Simona Gordon (2010-11 & 2009-10), and two All-Freedom Conference Second Team award winners in Hickey (2009-10) and Turner (2009-10).

Thomer had a tremendous first season with the Valiants in 2009-10, earning Freedom Conference Coach of the Year honors in her first season as a college head coach while leading her squad to the Freedom Conference regular-season championship — the first regular-season conference title in school history and the first conference title of any type for Manhattanville since 1981-82. In all, Manhattanville finished with an overall record of 19-8 and a 12-2 Freedom Conference record, marking the fourth-most wins in a single season in program history and the most by a Valiant team since 1983-84. The team's 12 conference wins also marked the most conference wins ever by a Manhattanville women's basketball team.

Following up a successful first season, Thomer led the Valiants to a second straight Freedom Conference regular-season title in 2010-11, finishing the year with a 17-9 overall record and 10-4 Freedom Conference mark. In 2011-12, the Valiants finished the season with a 9-15 record, which included a 6-3 mark on their home floor and three wins in their last four games.

Prior to taking the head coaching position at Manhattanville, Thomer served as an assistant women's basketball coach at the U.S. Military Academy, where she spent three years working under head coach Dave Magarity. Thomer served as an assistant coach at Army for two seasons, helping the team to a 37-24 record over that span. During her time at Army, she helped to develop the winningest senior class in Army's history, and she mentored four players who earned a total of seven All-Patriot League awards. Prior to that stint, Thomer served as head women's basketball coach of the U.S. Military Academy Prep School (USMAPS) for one season, guiding the program to its first-ever 4-0 record against the other service academy prep schools.

Thomer earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Elementary Education and Journalism in 2004 from Rider University, where she was the Broncs' point guard for four seasons. She was a three-time Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference All-Academic Team selection and received the team's Academic Excellence award as a senior. She also earned her Master of Education degree in Kinesiology and Sport and Exercise Psychology from the University of Virginia in 2006.

While earning her master's degree at Virginia, Thomer also successfully balanced coaching duties on two different basketball teams. As the head coach for the University of Virginia's club basketball team, she led the squad to a 46-6 record over two seasons and the 2005 East Coast Women's Club Championship. At the same time, Thomer also was the top assistant coach at the prominent St. Anne's Belfield School in Charlottesville, Va., mentoring several future Division I players as the squad won a conference title and placed fifth in the Virginia State Tournament.